Sep7

Celebrating Mabon

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Celebrating Mabon

Hello! Today, we are going to hear a little something from my darling friend, Carlie, over at Bombshell on Celebrating Mabon. As you will read in this post, Mabon is a Pagan nature holiday that gives thanks to all things fall and it’s something that Carlie enjoys participating in. Carlie will also be back later on this month with more fall and Halloween fun so definitely keep it posted, because she’s awesome! ❤

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Autumn is my favorite time of year for many reasons. The weather starts to get cooler, I love seeing the leaves changing beautiful colors, Halloween aka Samhain, and celebrating “Mabon”. Like Samhain, Mabon is a Pagan nature based holiday that represents the beginning of the Autumnal Equinox. It also signifies the second harvest of the calendar and promotes equality and balance. It’s a very positive time of the year where a lot of people celebrate the changing of the seasons, create their own little traditions, and enjoy nature of course. I hope you all are looking forward to the beginning of Autumn/Mabon as much as I am. This year the Autumn Equinox begins Friday, September 21st. And, if you want to celebrate Mabon in any way, it goes from September 21st to Saturday, September 29th!

How do you welcome the fall season? What is your favorite fall tradition? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep6

4 Tips For Buying A Lake House

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4 Tips For Buying A Lake House

Maybe you’ve always wanted a place to take the kids during the summer. Maybe you’re just trying to get away from it all. Whatever your reasons for considering the purchase of a lake house, here are four tips for making a smart decision about lakeside real estate:

1. Make a List

How big does it need to be? What features are you hoping to find? What amenities would get you excited? This doesn’t have to be a hard-and-fast list that you can’t deviate from; it can be a flexible collection of ideas that will get you thinking about what you desire in your future lake house.

2. Consider the Location

Location is one of the most important aspects of buying a lake house, especially if you’ll be responsible for maintaining the land around it. You might wind up needing something like weed control for lakes to keep nature from taking over. You’ll also want to think about climate, soil, shade, and the view from your windows.

Don’t be afraid to shop around for the location that is “just right” for you. Whether it be close to where you lived previously or in an entirely different state, you want your lake house property to be relaxing, safe, and family friendly. If waterfront property in your area is lacking, there are 55+ communities in Tennessee that boast lakeside views as well as communities along the different Great Lakes. Road trip, anyone?

3. Look Into the Owner

Once you’ve found a potential lake house, make sure that you do your research about its owner. They should have a clean, non-criminal record, and the house shouldn’t have any weird leasing issues or documentation mishaps. If you ever suspect that your lake house deal isn’t legitimate, don’t be afraid to cut your losses and walk away. A little firmness now can save you a world of trouble tomorrow.

4. Think About Year-Round Upkeep

If you’ll only be vacationing in the lake house once or twice a year, what will happen to it when you’re not there? Will you rent it out? Will you hire someone to maintain it? How much will it cost? Think about these things before committing to a particular land or cabin purchase. The little details could end up being a big deal.

These are just a few tips for finding, selecting, and evaluating a potential lake house. They can be a great investment for the future, but you’ll need to know what you’re doing before you sign on the dotted line. Good luck!

Sep6

Preparing To Attend A Baby Shower

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Preparing To Attend A Baby Shower

Baby showers are a traditional way to celebrate pregnancy and the introduction of a new life into the family. Family members and friends gather to shower the expecting mother with a variety of cards, gifts, supplies, advice, love, and support. There are usually fun games to be played and delicious refreshments to be served, as well. Below are some tips if you are attending or planning a baby shower soon:

Purchasing the Gift:

At a typical baby shower, the most common gifts include newborn clothing, newborn sized diapers, blankets, and bathing supplies. This is especially true when the gender is kept a secret, because all of these items are gender neutral baby gifts. It’s always a great idea to purchase useful items that other people may not think of, such as larger diaper sizes (2’s or 3’s), diaper pail liners, unique gift baskets, high quality cloth diapers, wipe warmers, matching clothes hampers, car window shades, or adorable “emergency” kits for the new mother’s diaper bag. Check out Kaiby Prime for baby hampers that make great gifts too.

While the mother to be probably has a registry, you might want to go with more unique but equally thoughtful options from stores that people haven’t thought of. Shop around with Nuna, Premium Car Seats, Pushchairs, and Baby Gear AU for all of the things that the soon to be mommy can be gifted with.

Cards & Gift Cards:

When selecting a card, be sure to leave a message for the mother and a message for the baby. This card may be handed down to the child when he or she is older, making these little notes very special. If a gift card is to be inserted into the card, be sure to choose a very popular retail chain where the mother could purchase baby supplies; she might decide to stock up on diapers before the baby arrives.

Be Ready for Games and Food:

Most baby showers feature fun games for the guests. These games may involve guessing the number of candies in a jar for a prize, blindfolded drawing contests, baby food identification, or bingo. It is important to dress comfortably, especially if the shower is held outside during the warmer months. Since most showers also offer food, it is recommended to eat a light snack before attending. Guests are always encouraged to take full advantage of the food, if it is provided!

Baby showers are fun, care-free, and casual parties that are meant to bring friends and family together in a joyous celebration of a new life. When attending one’s first shower as a guest, it is relieving to find that they are quite easy to prepare for!

Sep6

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Balm & Sugar Scrub Review

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Bite Beauty Agave Lip Balm & Sugar Scrub Review

Hello! For a while now, my Bite Beauty Agave Lip Balm & Sugar Scrub has been sitting in my bathroom waiting to be used. Since my birthday in June, more specifically, because it was part of my Beauty Insider birthday treat from Sephora. Don’t ask me why I never used it, because I don’t know. But, I am glad that I held off, because it definitely came in handy last week!

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While I was sick with the flu, my skin suffered because I was so dehydrated. My lips took a real beating, and by the time I was feeling better, they were raw from the cracking and peeling. I was picking at them until they bled (Shame on me!), and there still seemed to be dead skin that I wasn’t getting. So, I enlisted the help of the Bite balm and scrub.

First, I used the sugar scrub to buff my lips and try to remove any excess skin that was hanging on. The scrub tasted great – like sugar and honey. It worked well, too! I let it sit on my lips and rubbed them back and forth for a handful of minutes and they felt awesome after wiping the product off. They were so smooth and a good amount of yucky stuff came off, too. But, not all of the huge pieces of skin that hurt too bad to remove came off.

Instead of trying to take matters into my own hands, I applied the balm. The Agave Balm was nice and thick and I put a generous amount on my lips. Both the balm and scrub had a really tasty honey aroma, and the balm sat really well – no budges or anything. After an hour or so, I checked the progress on my lips and was able to remove the rest of the excess pain free. It also helped take away the stinging pain that comes with severely chapped lips.

My lips felt really good after using the sugar scrub and balm duo. It felt amazing to get them back to feeling normal after being so sick and they were even better than how they were before falling ill. I liked this product, and I would love to make a DIY sugar scrub so that I can indulge in this treat more often. I don’t think that I would purchase the Bite Beauty combination, though, just because a cheaper alternative is definitely out there somewhere!

Who has a good sugar scrub recipe? How do you take care of your lips? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep5

Sephora Golden Hour Highlighter In Dusk Swatch

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Sephora Golden Hour Highlighter In Dusk Swatch

Yo! Back in March, I tried out my first highlighter from Sephora. I used my Beauty Insider points to get a mini Becca highlighter in Opal during one of my orders. I’ve been using my highlighter for the past five months and am just about finished with it. And, five months isn’t bad at all for a mini product! While picking up my Mistress Hair Balm by IGK, I decided to get a new highlighter, too. I ended up with a Sephora brand one for a multitude of reasons, but price was definitely the main factor. Take a look and let’s discuss:

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^^^ The alternating pictures are with the flash off and the flash on, so you can see the illumination of the highlighter.

Originally, I had planned on getting another Becca highlighter. I really liked the shade that I was using and, if I was feeling saucy enough, maybe I would try a different one. But, then I realized that one of their highlighters costed thirty-five dollars and I said hell no. That would be the most that I’ve ever spend on a makeup product before and I just wasn’t comfortable with it.

I asked one of the workers if she could show me some of the different highlighters that the brands had and, everything but the Sephora brand, which ran for sixteen dollars, was upwards of thirty bucks. So, the Sephora brand it was. I liked that the color I went with, Dusk, was lighter than the shade that I’ve been using. Opal was nice and warm, which was perfect for summer. But, Dusk is cooler and more subdued, which is going to be lovely for the fall and winter months ahead.

I did like a lot of the more expensive highlighters that were shown to me, but I’m glad that I stuck to my guns and went with the cheapest option. I feel guilt free about my purchase and I definitely think that I would be feeling buyer’s remorse if I bought a thirty-five dollar highlighter. I’m looking forward to playing with my Sephora highlighter once I finish my Becca one in its entirety and will have to take some pictures to show you guys the makeup goods when I can! 😀

What is the most expensive beauty product you own? What about the least expensive? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep4

Small Sephora Shopping

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Small Sephora Shopping

Hello! Literally hours before I fell ill last week, I did a spot of shopping at Sephora to get myself a new highlighter and grab a full sized item that I fell in love with after using a tester in my Play! box. If you remember from my unboxing of the goodie bag, then you will know that the product that I’m talking about is the IGK Hydrating Hair Balm in Mistress. It is absolutely divine and is what we will be talking about in this post, as I will be swatching the highlighter tomorrow. Check it out:

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Now, normally, I would never pay TWENTY-NINE DOLLARS for a tube of hair product, but, then, I remembered that it took me three weeks to finish the tester and sometimes I used it twice a day. So, a little obviously goes a long way. I suspect that I will have this product for close to a year and that makes the initial, somewhat expensive investment, well worth it.

And, the fact that this balm kicks ass makes the investment worth it, too. My hair had three weeks of feeling simply lustrous and I would be a monkey’s uncle if I gave that up! The coconut oil in IGK’s leave in conditioner gives it a rich, creamy smell without being too perfumey or overpowering. It leaves your hair with the perfect amount of sleekness and shine but it doesn’t weigh it down, so your locks will still be able to maintain body and volume. Frizzy days are definitely a thing of the past thanks to Mistress, and your hair will look and feel like you got it done at the salon after styling it with each use.

I put a dime size dollop into my hair after my shower and by the time I’m ready to straighten it, the product is locked, loaded, and ready for action. I love the shine that my hair has from using this IGK balm and it feels so silky to the touch all day. It’s like you don’t even have anything in your hair. So consider it our little secret, okay? 🙂

Tomorrow, we’ll swatch my new highlighter from Sephora’s Golden Hour collection called Dusk. But, for now, what is your favorite hair product to use? What is one of your at home remedies for perfect hair? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep3

Flowers From Friends

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Flowers From Friends

Hey everyone and Happy Monday! To me, there is nothing better than a bouquet of flowers for the kitchen table. Whether they’re store bought, home grown, or picked on the side of the road, it doesn’t matter. Just as long as they’re pretty. And, because they’re flowers, you never have to worry about them not being pretty! This past weekend our wonderful neighbor stopped by with this gorgeous bouquet to celebrate an exciting development in my mom’s health and it’s so lovely that I had to share it with all of you! Take a look:

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There is no sweeter surprise than receiving Flowers From Friends and the above sure are beauties. I am particularly obsessed with the little purple fuzzy ones, even though I have no idea what they are. But, they sure are cute! I love that this bouquet looks like the upcoming fall season in its colors and selections, which makes me very excited because I do love me an autumn arrangement!

Having a neighbor as amazing as ours is a blessing, and these flowers are a special reminder of her surprise stopping over to celebrate my family’s happy news with us. This bouquet will definitely be making me smile for many days to come. 🙂

Who else has a really good relationship with their neighbor? Has anyone ever had a bad next door neighbor? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep2

Mystery Blogger Award #9

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Mystery Blogger Award #9

Hello! Upon returning back to lifewithlilred after my hiatus from the flu, I saw that the adorable Hunida from Hunida’s Blog nominated my page for its ninth Mystery Blogger Award. This was such a sweet surprise, especially since I’ve been feeling so shitty! Hunida is such a doll and I love chit chatting with her. Her page is a real treat, too, so be sure to check it out! Now, let’s get on to the rules for this award:

The Rules:

  • Thank whoever nominated you & include a link to their blog
  • Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
  • Answer the questions from the person who nominated you
  • Nominate 5-10 bloggers
  • Ask your nominees 5 questions of your own [with a choice of one weird or funny one]
  • Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog

Fun Facts:

  1. I used to say that I’d prefer to have the flu over a cold because usually the flu goes away more quickly, while a cold lingers on for forever. But, after my week of literal hell, I’ll take a cold on any day!
  2. The only bonus of being sick is that I do feel a little skinnier, so it’s never too late to get your bikini body. 😀 lololol
  3. Speaking of bikinis, why in SAM HILL did Victoria’s Secret stop selling them?! Now I have nowhere to buy a bikini even if I wanted to. I call bullshit.

Q & A:

My weird question: Do you eat ketchup with your eggs? It depends. If I’m eating just eggs and toast, then no. BUT, if I’m eating hashbrowns and eggs, then yes. Ketchup is a must for hashbrowns and if it gets on my eggs, then so be it. lol

What’s hanging up on the walls in your bedroom? In the bedroom I sleep in, AKA my sister’s old room before she moved out, there’s literally nothing on the walls. But, in my room with all of my stuff in it, I have pictures from magazines completely covering the walls. It looks awesome.

What do you keep on your nightstand every night? A bottle of water, my medicine to take in the morning, and my Kindle.

What is your favorite magazine to flip through? I’m a sucker for browsing through the celebrity rags like People and Us Weekly, but my favorite magazine to actually read is Rolling Stone.

Do you prefer gold or silver wedding bands for men? I never really thought about it, but silver.

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

My Questions For You:

  1. *Silly Question* Would you rather walk around with a wad of bubble gum on your shoe for the day or walk into an important meeting with toilet paper on your shoe?
  2. What is your least favorite day of the week?
  3. What is your favorite thing that you have done this summer?
  4. What was the last concert you went to?
  5. What is your favorite summer time treat?

Thank you so much again to Hunida for lifewithlilred’s ninth Mystery Blogger Award nomination! Let’s get to number ten soon! How would you answer some of Hunida’s questions for her nominees? How about some of my questions for mine? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep1

Weekend Update: Sick AF Edition

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Weekend Update: Sick AF Edition

Hiii everyone and happy weekend! You might have noticed that I haven’t been very active on my page this past week, even though I had posts publishing, cause pre-writing. And, that is because I came down with a really nasty bout of the flu. It. Was. Awful. What started out as an earache on Tuesday morning led to full blown incapacity by the early afternoon and I was completely down for the count.

We’re talking a fever that reached to 103 at its peak, a sore throat, an earache, chills, sweats, soreness all over, and not a snowball chance in hell of being able to eat anything. I would sweat so badly at night, that I’d wake up and see red all over my sheets because it made my hair color bleed! I am writing this post on Friday afternoon and am just now feeling semi-normal, even though the morning was really rough.

Because of my mom’s ongoing health struggles, I had to be quarantined to my bedroom for three days. This sucked on ice, because my room doesn’t have a TV! But, I was honestly so out of it that it didn’t even matter. Everything that I tried to do from taking a sip of water to swallowing much needed medicine caused me so much pain that there were points when I just started crying. It was totally and completely miserable.

But, after what felt like an eternity, I am finally back on the blogosphere and all I gotta say is thank gawd for pre-writing! I was so pleased when I discovered that all of my days away were covered because I had totally forgot! And, of course, I am so glad to be feeling better and back with all of you here on lifewithlilred. ❤

Aug31

Pacer Update (Finally!)

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Pacer Update (Finally!)

Hello everyone! It’s been a while since I updated you guys on my Pacer pedometer app progress and, honestly, that’s because there wasn’t much. This past month and a half has been a total doozy. I was so mentally and physically drained, and the last thing that I wanted to do was commit to walking 10,000 steps per day when I could have been laying on my sorry behind watching TV!!

But, that wasn’t really getting me anywhere and, as soon as the events that were taking place in my life that caused me a lot of anguish turned around, I was excited to pick up the Pacer again. This past week, I have been really dedicated to getting my 10K steps in at least four days of the week and I have blown that goal out of the water. It feels good to get myself moving again and although a lot of progress hasn’t been made, I’m back on the horse and I’m proud of that. Take a look at my stats:

  • Steps Taken: 1,364,282
  • Calories Burned: 33,311
  • Miles Walked: 445
  • Hours Active: 211
  • Days As A Pacer User: 177

I was also really pleased to see that I’ve been more active than sixty percent of the users on Pacer because, the last time I did an update, I was at a measly thirty percent. I doubled that! Things are looking up, and my exercise regimen is back in full swing, which makes things seem like they’re looking up even more! I feel really happy, and I can’t wait to get my 10,000 steps in today! 😀

Who else uses a pedometer app? How do you get back on the horse after a hiatus from working out? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah